Students in the sky
Lakeland High School senior Katrina Evans explores an Air National Guard plane during a flight over Oregon, Washington and Idaho April 26. She is enlisted in the Army Reserves, where she plans to be an aircraft mechanic after she graduates.
Photo by ZACK TURNER
Lakeland High School junior Brent Hill sits strapped into the seat directly behind the cockpit on a KC-135, where he watched the plane descend and land at Fairchild Air force Base April 26. Brent was one of three students who won an Air National Guard essay contest to accompany a flight to refuel another plane in the air.
Student Resource Officer John Hatcher, one of three staff members from Lakeland High School invited to accompany students on a refueling flight with the Air National Guard, explores the inside of a KC-135 plane. The roughly 3-hour flight traveled over Oregon, Washington and Idaho before landing back at Fairchild Air Force Base.
Instructors were excited "Like little kids" when they were invited on a refueling flight through the Air National Guard, in what was a once in a lifetime opportunity for many of them. Corey Pettit is enthralled by the view, and the chance to have full range of the KC-135 plane.
From right, Lakeland High School's career advisor Carrie Paquette, Air National Guard recruiter Emily Hanson, senior Ty Gilbert, senior Katrina Evans, student resource officer John Hatcher, junior Brent Hill and instructor Corey Pettit are guests on an Air National Guard refueling flight April 26.
The view from the "boombox" where Lakeland High School students and staff were invited to watch a KC-135 refuel a P-8 while in the air, before returning to Fairchild Air Force Base April 26.
Lakeland High School instructor Corey Pettit and junior Brent Hill stand in front of the KC-135 they flew in April 26. They watched as the Air National Guard crew refueled a P-8 plane and sat in the cockpit as the plane landed in Fairchild Air Force Base.
A screenshot of the rough flight path from Fairchild Air Force Base April 26.
Three Lakeland High School students who entered and won an Air National Guard essay contest in March were rewarded with a flight on a KC-135.
During the roughly three-hour trip April 26 from Fairchild Air Force Base, students had full run of the plane to do whatever they wanted and watched as air guard pilots refueled a plane from inside the “boombox." They were close enough to see the patches on the other pilots’ uniforms.
“It was one of the best experiences of my life,” said Lakeland student Brent Hill, 17. “Not a lot of people get to do that, and it was really great.”
Brent, a junior, and seniors Ty Gilbert, who just got her pilot's license, and Katrina Evans, who is a mechanic at the Coeur d’Alene Airport, submitted essays to board the flight. They could also nominate staff members from their school to fly with them, so the students brought armed guard John Hatcher, industrial technology teacher Corey Pettit, who was nominated by two students, and college and career advisor Carrie Paquette on the flight.
“Pettit taught me how to be a better person,” Brent said. “I brought him because he’s someone I look up to.”
Brent has wanted to be a pilot since he was in seventh grade, and has completed some ground schooling, but fell off his flight classes while trying to save and earn money. He joined a high school aviation club to stay on track, and when he heard about the essay contest he requested the details from Paquette. Winning the flight has boosted his inspiration to start logging more flight time before he enlists in the Army when he graduates.
Gilbert will pursue aviation mechanics at Idaho State University, Paquette said, and Evans is enlisted in the Army Reserve, where she plans to work on planes. The experience was enlightening and inspirational, they said.
“I’ve been working with Ty all year with her plans,” Paquette said. “It was really fun to see her on that plane, enjoying that experience, because I know that that’s a passion for her.”
The Lakeland team flew with three other local students, the Air National Guard pilots and guard recruiter Emily Hanson. The flight path started in Washington, went through Oregon, southern Idaho and back. They met a P-8 plane near Boise, and students took turns laying in the "boombox" watching as the "boomer" connected the KC-135 to the P-8 with a boom, refueling it in the air for over an hour.
Before take-off, the crew taught students and the Lakeland staff about the entire refueling process and details of the KC-135. Everyone was able to ride in the jumpseats on the plane, ride in the cockpit and got to put on headphones to listen while the pilots spoke to air traffic control. Paquette was nervous as she and Hill watched from the cockpit as the plane began its descent and landed back on base.
“It was something seeing the landing strip from the cockpit,” Paquette said. “It was really, really quite an amazing experience. The other staff members and I were just like kids. How many people get to go on a military base and see what that’s even like?”
Zack Turner from Lake City High School was also invited to attend as photographer for the event. He wants to be in aviation photography.
